


The voices... they demand blood

by twistedxtozier



Series: Family Development [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dadza, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Hurt/Comfort, Part of a Collection, SBI dynamics, Technoblade going through it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28640553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistedxtozier/pseuds/twistedxtozier
Summary: Techno was twelve when he started to hear what the townspeople said about him, and didn’t just see their wary glances or hear hushed voices around him.Part of my SBI origin story AU, and sort of a short character study of Techno. This work focuses a lot on how he deals with his violent nature around his family, and how they handle it together.
Relationships: Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Series: Family Development [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094282
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	1. Sparring

**Author's Note:**

> This first chapter is inspired by an animatic on TikTok by the very talented @/pyrrhic_geese. I'll link the exact TikTok below, and thank you to everyone reading! Again, this work and the whole series does not have a beta reader! If anyone wants to beta this I would really appreciate it, and also criticism and feedback is always welcome :)
> 
> TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJ7Qd52L/

Techno was twelve when he started to hear what the townspeople said about him, and didn’t just see their wary glances or hear hushed voices around him. They called him a freak, dangerous, and they said that Phil was a stupid man for taking him in. They said that one day he would hurt his own family, and part of Techno couldn’t help but wonder if that was true. He wasn't stupid, he knew how he got out of control when sparring. _Wild animals can’t be tamed, even when you give them clothes and a family._ Crowds would part, avoiding him, and women would hold their children close to their sides as he passed.

Don’t they know that he’s a child, too? That just because he’s growing taller and his tusks peak out of his mouth more every day it doesn’t make him less human, he’s the same kid that’s always come to their town and never caused any trouble. He stops going up to the blacksmith and asking questions, and he keeps to the fields on the outskirts of town, running with Tommy and play-pushing him into streams. Phil sees the change in the town, in his son, too, and he hates that there’s nothing he can do about it. He sees other fathers set their faces into hard, angry lines as he passes even though he's no different than them. He loves his sons just as much. When Techno starts bringing his sword on trips into town, slung loosely on his hip, Phil doesn’t stop him. 

Techno doesn’t even go into town to find Phil anymore, he sends Wilbur in or waits outside the town gates because if he passes them he’ll be jeered at, spat on. He gets more threats with every inch added to his height. Tommy doesn’t understand, he’s too young, and he wants Techno to come into town with him and look at the flowers and wares sold by his favorite villager. He doesn’t know how to explain that he can’t, and so he shuts Tommy out. It hurts. He and Tommy have always been the closest, he’d do anything for his littlest brother, but Tommy and Wilbur go into the town without him and play on streets he isn’t welcome in.

Phil doesn’t like Techno being alone for very long though, so he sends Wilbur back out to keep him company after an hour or so. He knows sitting outside the town and staring at the way the grass moves in the wind, pretending you don’t feel the critical gaze of the kids in town, isn’t very fun, but Wilbur is nice about it. He knows not to hug Techno in front of others, but Wilbur leans his head on Techno’s shoulder like he’s comforting himself, and it makes Techno feel a lot better. He’ll always have his family. 

“I wish they wouldn’t look at you like that,” Wilbur whispers into the chill air, moving his hand in the pooling fabric of Techno’s cloak to hold the other’s without anyone being able to see.

“The looks aren’t what we have to worry about, Wil.” Wilbur lifts his head from Techno’s shoulder and turns towards him with a peculiar look on his face.

“Spar with me,” he says. He’s dead serious, but Techno laughs anyway.

“Here?” He asks, with disbelief on his face. “You know we can’t do that.”

“Why not?” He’s getting angry now, glancing over to the kids peering over the wall. “If they’re going to look at you like some fucking zoo exhibit, give them something worthwhile to look at. Maybe they’ll leave you alone once they realize you could kill them in a second.”

Now, this is by no means Wilbur’s most fantastic idea, but it’s not completely without merit. Techno would love to see them all scamper off to find their parents, scared out of their minds because the town freak was fighting his own brother. They’d be the only ones that knew it was fake, and it was getting pretty boring on the field the more time Phil spent in town.

“Okay. Why not?” A smile breaks across Wilbur’s face and he stands up, holding out his hand so that Techno can do the same. They back up, taking out their swords in unison, and getting into the right stance to fight. Wilbur charges first, and Techno rolls out of the way of his sword, ending up behind Wilbur and sweeping his legs out from under him. He steps back, waiting for Wilbur to get up as he laughs into the grass.

“I hate that move.” He brushes himself off.

“I know.” Techno laughs and runs towards him, purposely leaving his left side open. He gets up close to Wil and before he can strike; he has to block from his left, just like he intended. Wilbur pulls his sword back and swings from the top, Techno having to block again, but he pushes back hard enough that Wilbur’s own sword gets close to his face, threatening to nick at his cheek. Wilbur steps back and pushes up with his sword as he jumps, pushing his legs out to shove at Techno’s chest, forcing him to stagger back.

“When did you get so good at this?” Techno swings his sword wide and easy to block.

“Me and Phil have been practicing without you.” Wilbur laughs, blocking Techno and slashing down at his leg. 

“I don’t remember Phil being this good either.” He does a flip backward for show when dodging Wilburs sword, even though he could have just stepped back. He hears the gasps of kids behind him and the ends of his lips quirk up in satisfaction.

“Maybe you’re just getting old.” Wilbur runs at him again, and Techno slides to the side before aiming down at his open left. Wilbur blocks him just in time and looks up at him in surprise like he wasn’t expecting it.

“No older than you.” He lets his tusks peer out of his mouth a lot more, knowing how menacing it looks to an outsider, and growls loudly for show as he swings wide again, aiming at just above Wilbur’s head. Wilbur ducks and swings his own sword at Techno’s legs, and he jumps up to avoid it, losing his footing at the landing and stepping back a bit. Wilbur swings again as Techno staggers, and Techno dodges it, taking a harsh swing back as Wilbur blocks it messily, the blades sliding against each other in a loud scraping sound. 

Wilbur flips the blades and the very edge of his sword slices through Techno’s arm, just close enough to cut through the first layer of skin. He steps back, a look of horror on his face. He hadn’t meant to cut Techno; it was just supposed to be for fun. There’s a tear in Techno’s shirt and blood drips onto his cloak, slowly running down his arm. He stares at it for a minute and feels a familiar tightening in his chest, his eyes glow redder, and fear and anger claw their way through his chest. He’s fighting for his life again.

He doesn’t see Wilbur, he sees someone with a sword and he feels a need to survive. He charges back at Wilbur, a ferocious snarl on his lips, and Wilbur has no choice but to fight back. Phil is the only one who can stop Techno when he’s like this, and he doesn’t know how long he can fight Techno off but he prays to every god there is that Phil comes back soon. He blocks Techno but it’s not light-hearted anymore, he’s aiming to kill and Wilbur has a terrible habit of leaving himself vulnerable. He’s never been very good at combat because, with Techno around, he didn’t have to be.

Wilbur keeps blocking Techno’s slashes and dodging his kicks, never trying to swing back. He doesn’t want to learn what he’s capable of in battle, he’s not ready yet. He sees a small figure running toward them out of the corner of his eye, and as he blocks another one of Techno’s swings he looks over. _It’s Tommy._

“Tommy!” The boy is running towards them, alone and with tears on his cheeks at the sight of his brothers, “Don’t get any closer!” He ducks under one of Techno’s swings and finally fights back a little, trying to sweep Techno’s legs out from under him. It works a little, Techno falls to his knees, but he gets back up with a growl and exposed teeth. “Go get Phil,” Wilbur yells as Techno comes at him even harder than before.

Tommy darts away out of the corner of Wilbur’s vision, and he kicks out at a charging Techno again, stopping him for just enough time to turn around and run away. He might be able to run faster than Techno, but he doesn’t know, he’s never tried. He needs to get to cover, and he runs for the tree line by the eastern town wall. He gets halfway there, but Techno catches up to him and shoves him, face down into the dirt, Wilbur’s sword flying out of his hand and into the tree line in the process. Wilbur rolls over so he’s facing the sky, and he sees Techno standing over him, a crazed look in his eye, and his sword gripped in both hands. The sword is hovering over Wilbur’s heart, and he knows in any second he’ll be a goner.

“I love you Techno,” _he has to know that._ He sees Techno raise his sword, ready to stab down at him, and he puts his hands up defensively even though he knows it won’t do anything. His eyes are tightly shut, waiting for the stabbing pain he knows is coming, but it doesn’t. He opens his eyes and Phil is standing over him, across from Techno.

“That’s enough, Techno,” he says softly. He’s holding Techno’s sword in one hand by the blade, both of Techno’s still loosely holding the handle, and he must have grabbed on to it while Techno was aiming down. Blood is running down the blade and Phil’s arm, pooling fast onto the grass below. Wilbur lets out a sob of relief as Techno’s eyes clear into their normal red and he drops the sword, looking at Phil, not yet comprehending what happened.

They’re right outside the town wall, and there are townspeople in a group staring over the wall at them, shocked and terrified looks on their faces. Techno looks at Phil’s hand, and then down at Wilbur on the floor, and his own face morphs into one of horror and distress.

“Phil?” Techno’s voice broke and he stood frozen still, staring at what he’d done to Phil, thinking about what could have happened to Wilbur. Phil picks up Techno’s sword with his non-injured hand and puts it back on Techno’s belt before pulling him into a careful hug. Techno looks shell-shocked, and Wilbur can tell he wants to cry, but there are still so many people looking at them.

“Are you okay, Wil?” Phil turns around and asks him, again holding out his good hand to help Wilbur up off the ground.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Wilbur sees Tommy standing a few steps away, tears drying on his face, and Wilbur pulls him into his side. “It’s okay, Toms. Look, everyone’s fine.”

“Let’s go home,” Phil says, wrapping his arm around Techno’s shoulders, his bleeding hand hanging down and dripping a blood trail onto the grass as he guides them home. It’s a quiet walk home, and Wilbur carries Tommy half of the way back, holding him tight against his chest. When they get back, Phil goes to get supplies to wrap his hand, and Techno sits down on the couch, hands covering his face as he sobs into them. Tommy curls up next to Techno on the couch, small arms wrapping around his torso, and Techno doesn’t try to stop him. 

Phil comes down the stairs minutes later with his hand wrapped in strips of gauze, and he sits on Techno’s other side.

“It’s okay, Techno.”

“It’s not!” He lifts his head to look at Phil, and his face is a blotchy red. “I could’ve killed him!” He gestures towards Wilbur and a stray tear trails down his cheek.

“It was an accident, Techno. I’m not upset.” Wilbur says, trying to reassure him. This is the most upset, or emotive in general, that Wilbur has ever seen Techno.

“And what about if it happens again? Or when Phil’s not here? Those people are right! I’m a danger to all of you if you let me stay here.”

“What people?” Phil asks. There’s a sadness in his eyes that Techno can’t read.

“The townspeople. I hear what they say about me, Phil, and I know you do too. They aren’t wrong.”

“Don’t say that,” Wilbur pleads, “they don’t know the first thing about you. You would never hurt us on purpose, and it’s not your fault that you get like that. Don’t punish yourself for something you can’t control.”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s my fault or not, Wilbur! I can’t control it and that’s the point. I’m going to hurt you... all of you. Let me go while you have the chance.” Techno says, looking up at Phil with shining eyes and pain written across his facial features.

“You can always leave if you really want to, I told you that from the beginning,” Phil replies, and it looks like it’s physically paining him to say it. “But we aren’t defined by our worst moments, Techno. We still love you. And you aren’t going to hurt us; you’ve improved so much in just the short time you’ve lived here. One day you’ll be able to control it. Let us _help_ you.”

Techno scans over Phil’s face with glassy eyes, and he doesn’t know what to say back. He buries his face in Phil’s shoulder and gives him a tight hug, and he feels Wilbur come up behind him and join in. Tommy moves off the end of the couch and wiggles his way into the middle of the hug, pulling on Phil’s wings just a little until they’re wrapped around them all.

“Thank you,” Techno says, muffled into Phil’s shirt. Phil cards gentle fingers through pink hair and says,

“We love you, Techno.”

The next time Phil goes into town the gates are shut in his face, they threaten his boy, and they tell him to never come back. When Techno is just twelve years old they are forced to relocate, and it’s **his** fault. He knows that, even if Phil and his brothers try to tell him otherwise. He just has to do better in the next town.


	2. Moving Day(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _They can’t take most of their stuff with them when they leave to find another town. Tommy thinks it’s a fun family trip, and Techno’s glad that the boy is young enough to forget this in a couple of years. Wilbur looks exhausted and every time Techno looks at his brother’s slouching frame and eye bags he feels guilty._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I had to redo this chapter twice because I have no idea what I'm doing. Nonetheless, I can accept what I finally finished with and I hope you guys like it. This is also the end of my stockpiled chapters for this series, so don't be surprised if the next updates aren't as frequent, but please bear with me y'all, I want to finish this and I'm working hard on it :)

They can’t take most of their stuff with them when they leave to find another town. They harvest all of the crops even if they aren’t ready yet, and pack their extra food in a bag to leave outside the town. Techno said not to, the people there hate them, but Phil didn’t want to waste it. Tommy has to leave behind his mushroom bed set-up, but Phil promises him they can make another one when they get settled. Wilbur has to leave behind his house plants, and he says goodbye to each of them by name when they leave. 

They only have two horses, so Phil takes one and Wilbur takes the other while Tommy and Techno walk. Or more accurately, Techno walks with Tommy on his shoulders. They have to set up two camps for the night before they find another village, and Techno and Phil have to take shifts guarding the tent, neither of them getting more than 5 hours of sleep. Tommy thinks it’s a fun family trip, and Techno’s glad that the boy is young enough to forget this in a couple of years. Wilbur looks exhausted and every time Techno looks at his brother’s slouching frame and eye bags he feels guilty.

_Your fault. You never should have let Phil take you in. Now you’re too involved to leave._

They introduce themselves to the village people, this town is a lot smaller than the other one, and Techno stays on the outskirts of town, watching the horses with the hood of his cloak up. He won’t make the same mistake again. They find an unclaimed plot of land, one by a mountain so they can build a house into the rock just like their last one, and Techno insists on taking the first watch.

Techno lets Phil sleep in on a lot of his watch shifts, and it gives him a lot of time to think. He hasn’t decided if that’s a good thing. He is so fucking frustrated, and _guilty_ , all the time. Wilbur looks like he isn’t getting enough sleep, he knows Phil isn’t, and poor Tommy just got into a stable home environment and Techno had to go on and ruin it. The only thing to keep him busy is fighting mobs while on guard, and he pushes them far away from the tent and into the tree line so that he can throw himself recklessly at them, pushing all of his anger and disappointment into meaningless fights with zombies and creepers. 

But there really aren’t a lot of mobs where they set up, it’s sort of unnerving really, so a lot of the time Techno just steams by the fire, thinking about what he could have done differently. It would be so easy to leave the camp while the rest of his family was sleeping and solve the problem right then and there, so they’d never have to worry about him again. They could play in the village for hours, never known as the brothers of ‘that freak’ or ‘monster’ or whatever other terrible names they had come up with for Techno that week. 

But he couldn’t, he wasn’t as strong or self-sufficient as he used to be, and he was selfish now. Phil had treated him too well over the years and now he had gone soft; he couldn’t imagine life without a bouncy and vibrant Tommy waking him up in the morning, without his play fights with Willbur, and without Phil to fall into after a long day. And yeah, he wouldn’t say all this soft shit out loud but the fact that he was even thinking it would have made the old Techno retch. 

He lets it all build up inside of him, staring distantly into the flames of the fire, and a growl almost leaps out of his throat as he thinks himself in circles. There hasn’t been a mob in hours now, so he gets up and walks quite a few paces away from their camp, seeing if there were any good trees to stab around here. Their new plot of land was leading right up to a dark oak forest, and there were plenty of thick trees to pick from. He’s tired of fucking up, he’s sick of his family pretending that it’s fine and then making excuses. He **is** a monster, he can’t control it, and Wilbur looked so _scared_ after Techno attacked him last week and sometimes Techno just wants to-

He thinks himself in circles like this, pacing around the forest floor tirelessly before he snaps.

He threw his sword down and kicked and punched at a stupid tree until his knuckles were cut up and raw from the bark, and his feet and knees ached, barely keeping his screams and sobs suppressed and quiet. When he’s finished he looks down at his hands and stumbles back, falling into another tree, and letting himself slide down onto the forest floor as he stares at the bloody mess of his hands. _How am I going to explain this to Phil? I’ve already been gone longer than I intended._ His shaky hands come up to grip at the roots of his loose braid, and his hands sting when he moves his fingers as he dissolves into quiet tears.

“Techno?” A quiet voice calls out behind him. It’s Wilbur, Techno recognizes. _God this isn’t what was supposed to happen._ He tries to wipe the tears from his eyes, but he just smudges the blood from the back of his hand and the tears together into a thin, streaky paste. He doesn’t need a mirror to realize how bad this is going to look. 

“Yeah, I’m here, Wil. Everything’s fine.” He calls out, trying to be quiet and not wake up anybody else. This is the last thing he wants to explain to Phil right now, and Wilbur honestly isn’t much better. He’ll probably tell Phil anyway. He stands up and brushes off his pants to the best of his ability, turning around the corner of the tree trunk to face Wilbur.

Wilbur squints in the darkness of the forest and when he does see Techno his eyes widen and he takes a few steps back, looking like he’s going to run back towards the camp. Techno runs forward as quietly as he can, and when he reaches Wilbur he clamps a bloody hand over the other boy’s mouth, trying to stop him from calling for Phil like Techno knows he wants to.

“Don’t yell for Phil, I said everything was fine.” Wilbur glares at him and reaches up to pry Techno’s hand off of his face, but Techno presses down harder. “Promise. Phil doesn’t need to hear about this.” Wilbur nods his head and Techno finally lets his hand fall.

“What are you doing? Why does it look like you got your face punched in?” Wilbur whispers, bringing a hand up to Techno’s face to rub at the drying blood with his thumb, wiping the top layer off but continuing to smudge the rest.

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he says, gently pushing Wilbur’s hands off of him. “It’s just my knuckles. I rubbed my hands on my face.” He holds his torn knuckles up in the minimal moonlight streaming through the leaves of the forest, and Wilbur gasps, grabbing Techno’s hand slowly and bringing it closer to his face for a better look.

“This needs to be cleaned.” Wilbur looks at him with concern, and Techno looks away from him, unable to sustain eye contact. It’s easier to pretend when Phil is around, but Wil is Techno’s age and so he knows how scared Techno truly is, he knows that Techno is no stronger than him on the inside, even if he viciously pretends, _wants_ , **needs** to be. “Come on.” Wilbur lets go of his hands but tugs at the end of his shirtsleeves, leading him farther away from their camp and to the left, further into the thick treeline.

They come upon a clearing and then a small stream and Wilbur sits down at the edge, his bare feet dipping into the freezing running water. He pulls Techno down with him, gently of course, as all things are with his brother, and pulls one of Techno’s hands into the cold water. His cut-up knuckles sting, but it’s lessened by the numbing effect of the cool water. Wilbur cleans the blood off of his hands, and eventually wipes at his face with wet, cold hands, managing to get a majority of the blood there, too. 

“What’s wrong?” It’s asked like more of a statement than a question, and Techno raises his eyebrow.

“Nothing. I told you already.” Techno is staring at the grass, wanting to pick at it and rip it up in clumps, but he knows that Wil would kill him if he got his hands dirty again. 

“Do you really think I’m going to believe that?” Wilbur looks over at him, exhausted, exasperated, but still managing to look fond, as he threads his fingers through Techno’s pink hair. Techno leans into Wilbur’s hands, staring up at the moon until his eyes burn from the light and he has to avert his eyes to the trees. Wilbur thinks he isn’t going to say anything, but then Techno takes a deep breath and curls into Wilbur more.

“I’m sorry we had to move. Because of me, I mean.” Wilbur shifts a bit so he can see Techno, and when Techno meets his eyes he can tell that Wilbur is going to object. “I know you and Phil don’t like to talk about it, but it is my fault we had to move. If you didn’t have me, you could be a normal family. You, Phil, and Tommy.”

“But we don’t want that, Techno.” Wilbur looks sad and guilt still eats away at Techno’s stomach. He turns away; eye contact with him makes Techno feel like Wilbur is staring through him, and he doesn’t like not being able to have secrets.

“You should,” he shrugs off with a chuckle.”I make everything so much harder.”

“That’s not true. You’re not the problem, stupid people are. They hate you just because of how you look and if that isn’t the definition of stupid, I don’t know what is.” Techno laughs a bit and leans back into Wil’s shoulder, letting Wilbur take the ends of his hair into his hands and start a loose braid. “And we love you, Techno. You’re family, and so more or less we’re stuck with you.”

“But I still feel bad, you know? You and Phil look so tired... “ Techno trails off, closing his eyes and realizing he’s tired, too. He’s been so alert, and worrying so much. He didn’t let himself think about being tired until Wilbur got him to sit down.

“I’m tired because I’m worried about _you_. I don’t know if you know this, but you look like shit, dude. You need to stop putting everything on yourself, and you’re taking way more watch time than what’s healthy. Phil was supposed to switch out with you like two hours ago. I’m sure Phil’s worried about you too, and the watches aren’t helping him either. You both look like you’re going to keel over.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Wilbur replies, with the hint of a sigh in his voice. “Just figure it out with Phil. So I can stop stressing out and being the responsible one.” Techno barks out a laugh, sitting up and turning to face Wil.

“As if you’re ever responsible.”

“I don’t want to be!” He laughs back, pushing at Techno’s shoulders. “It sucks.” Techno looks at Wilbur with steady, piercing eye contact, a searching look in his eyes. It’s the look he gets when he’s with one of them, and he’s thankful, or he wants to say ‘I love you’ but can never quite manage it. Wilbur knows Techno loves him, he doesn’t particularly need to hear it. Techno is such a softie with them that it’s obvious.

“Come on,” Wilbur stands up and grabs him by the forearm, wrenching him up from the ground and acting as support. “Let’s get you fixed up.”

They get back to the tent and Wilbur wraps his hands in that gentle way of his, sending him off to bed like a worrying mother with a soft tussle of Techno’s hair that he tries (and fails) to dodge. Techno passes out almost immediately, exhaustion setting into his aching bones, and Wilbur gets Phil up for his watch. Phil is confused, and Wilbur says something about forcing Techno to rest, getting a wary look from Phil.

When Techno wakes up and Phil sees his wrapped hands, he doesn’t say anything, but he does spare a concerned glance at Wilbur. Wil wants to tell Phil what happened, but he turns his gaze away and pretends he doesn’t see Phil practically staring through him. Techno is downright awful at communicating, but ultimately it’s his story to tell, and Wilbur said he would let Techno deal with Phil.

Techno lets Phil take the first watch that night, which he never does because he wants to let Phil sleep as long as possible, and Phil seems to fill in the gaps. He pulls Techno into a hug and beams at Wilbur over the other boy’s shoulders.

They’re okay.


End file.
